Church in the City

The Johanneskirche is the central church of the Protestants in Dusseldorf. It is the »city church« – in the midst of the shopping area, the church for urban people, for believers and for the »curious, atheists and spiritual ramblers«, as we say. The doors are open, every day, for worship and concerts, exhibitions and bible-exploring groups, devotion and silent prayers and for the church café. For the Johanneskirche is a hospitable place. From Tuesdays to Saturdays a welcoming team of volunteers is at service giving opportunity to escape from the malls of central Dusseldorf. The café time starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m. with our daily short act of worship, the 10-minutes service. We close on Mondays to give the team of the Johanneskirche a day of rest.

Crossing the modern interior of the church café you enter the church hall where you can join our services at certain times in the week (see newsletter). Sunday morning at 10 o´clock this church celebrates with the classic Lutheran liturgy, and this hour is broadcasted live by the local TV station and the internet (live stream). On certain Sunday evenings a different flock gathers for the Johannesmesse, a service carried by the choir and the voices of the worshippers. At Friday night at seven the start-in-the-weekend-flock shuffles in for the Choral Evensong.

City churches attract special communities. Here experienced parish-people (of different denominations) meet those who know Christianity from afar. Those who once left their church behind now return for rejoining the Christian family, because they want to be part of something sacred. Some take the chance to rediscover their Christian belief in new expressions, different shapes of worship and open settings of bible talk and discussion. Strollers and tourists, people in need, artists, music connoisseurs and refugees from faraway, Christians, Muslims, Jews and many others make the participants of the urban congregation of St. John. And this is exactly what this church wants to be: a house of God, in the city, in contact with people out of touch of their religion, unrelated to their resident parish, but seeking something gone lost for long and suddenly coming back to mind. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. a pastor attending is approachable without appointment (or by appointment at any other times during the week; phone 0211 135898).

The city church is not church of this city would it remain untouched by the art scene of Dusseldorf, with the Kunstakademie, art museums, and art galleries. The Johanneskirche initiates the encounter of free arts and the Christian message, and in this gentle strike exciting things of the third kind are generated. Barbara Wengler and Nathalie Dimic (substitute) are developing this section.

In its central location the Johanneskirche hosts major ecumenical events as well as elaborated projects, performing extraordinary organ compositions (Messiaen festival), the annual »Easter ChamberJams« under the art direction of Priya Mitchell and Daniel Rowland, organised by Hanne Abendroth, staging operas or experimental performances. But all this is centered in, motivated by and focused on delivering the gospel to people God has in mind. The Johanneskirche offers support to encounter the risen Christ, in this place, Martin Luther Platz, central Dusseldorf.

A Walking Tour

Integration Course "Christianity"

Starts in October.

What happens at Pentecost? What is the story behind Carnival? What is an Advent wreath and why do we celebrate Christmas?

Our Integration Course “Christianity” provides insight into the Christian roots of our country’s customs and culture. We want to answer the questions of people who have not grown up in a culture influenced by Christianity.

We show the content and meaning of the stories in the Bible, and how modern people these days read holy texts in a way that gives them relevance to their daily lives. We explain what we Christians believe, how we try to live, how we profess our faith. We explain why Sunday is a day of rest, what we celebrate at Christmas and how the celebration is prepared during Advent season. Carnival, Easter, Ascension Day, Entrecote, Thanksgiving – there are so many things in this society that one cannot possibly know or understand unless one has grown up with them.

All are welcome: Christians and those who want to join our faith, curious and interested members of other religions, and people without religious affiliation who want to solve a few of these mysteries for themselves.